neoclassical architecture: "In the late 19th century, Ponce developed its own blend of Spanish Creole and neoclassical architecture called Ponce Creole; it's characterized by the use of Corinthian columns, wrought-iron balconies, and gas lamps. It was dubbed Creole because it reminded some of New Orleans's French Quarter. Wealth from Ponce's sugarcane industry financed most of the elegantly ornamented buildings." Some of the other prominent characteristics of this architectural style have been described by Pablo Ojeda O'Neill as "a long raised porch, stone rostrium-raised homes to achieve ventilation and to protect the wood foundation, a series of front doors with wooden windows to maximize ventilation."<ref>Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, et al. Breviario sobre la Historia de Ponce y sus Principales Lugares de Interes. San Juan, PR: Model Offset Printing. 1991. Page 54.</ref> In their classic study about Ponce architecture, Reed and Torres identified the Ponce Creole style as "a one-storeyed residential masonry dwelling with front lintel doors and side gate, garage with interior ceiling arches, interior walls with wall guards, porch and garage ironwork in wrought-iron, multiple front double doors with four sets of wooden blinds each, porch with simple wooden columns with crowns in the classical tradition, simple door frames, and porch roof of wood and zinc."Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. 1992. p.481. Notable architects While Ponce had many prominent architects during this period, such as Manuel V. Domenech, Francisco Porrata-Doría, and Alfredo B. Wiechers, it was Blas Silva who distinguished himself in that he actually created a whole new architectural style. Adapting the curves of the Art Nouveau to the persistent Neo-classicism of Puerto Rico, Silva succeeded in creating a movement in architecture which broke away from the traditional forms while remaining within them. The traditional continuous raised verandah along the front facade is broken up into two and twisted out of its usual linearity into the curved forms preserved today. Characteristic of the architecture to abound in Ponce contemporaneous to Castillo 34, for example, is a profusion of aplique, and eclectic combination and juxtaposition of shapes, particularly curvilinear, and a general ostentation of articulation. The structure at 34 Castillo Street is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Blas Silva was probably the most established of the "wedding-cake architects" and was thus sought after mostly by the "nouveau riche" of the period. Silva's houses are among the richest in Ponce, among